StarLadder ImbaTV Minor – Final Day Recap

This tournament was the second Minor of 2019 and it was home to some of the best Dota 2 teams around. The only downside was the fact that the event was held at the same time as WESG 2018-2019. Nevertheless, both tournaments had their charm. Let’s take a look at what happened during the last day of the Minor.

Vici Gaming vs Old but Gold

The first game of the day was between one of the strongest Chinese teams and the CIS sensation. Vici Gaming finished first in their group, whereas ObG were able to deal with the TI Champions OG yesterday.

Game one was a quick warm-up for Vici Gaming as they ripped through Illidan’s stack. Ori’s signature Lina had the time of his life in the mid lane and just a few minutes into the game, Vici’s advantage was starting to become unreachable by the CIS stack. 26 minutes into the game and the GG call was out.

Being just one game from elimination, Old but Gold decided to step up their game. However, it was still not enough. The Chinese rolled out another classic in the face of Terrorbalde. As the game went on, he became way too big to deal with, regardless of the counters on the side of the CIS team.

Gambit vs Flying Penguins

The second CIS team and probably one of the favourites in the entire event was able to deal with EE’s team fairly easy. The first game was definitely the more interesting one because there was tons of back-and-forth action going on. On the contrary, game two was a pure stomp from Gambit Esports. They needed just twenty minutes in order to secure themselves the victory and a spot for the Grand Final. However, little did they know, Vici Gaming was more than ready for this match.

The Grand Final

The CIS powerhouse definitely made a name for themselves in the last couple of tournaments. In fact, their only loss in this Minor was from Vici gaming in the group stage. That’s why this seemed like the perfect time to get revenge. However, this was undoubtedly easier said than done.

The easiest way to describe this series is by calling a stomp. Vici Gaming completely ran over Gambit in their first games, most notably in game one where the CIS team only had 3 kills.

Nearly the same happened in game two. Gambit just had no answer for the aggression coming in from the Chinese. They were looking like the team that definitely wanted the victory more. Both of the games finished in just 25 minutes.
The third game was probably the most contested one as Gambit tried to pull a rabbit out of their hat. A very crucial fight happened around the 25th-minute mark, which gave Gambit some lead. Despite that, they were unable to utilize it properly. Vici gaming had an answer for most of their rotations and got a well deserved 3-0 victory in the Grand Final.

Apart from winning $125,000, the Chinese squad secured themselves a spot for the upcoming DreamLeague Season 11 Major. The tournament starts next week so keep an eye on our predictions page.

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In this article

Hi there, my name is Veselin and I have been playing dota for more than 10 years now. I am a die-hard eSports fan and I will try to keep you updated on all the new and exciting stuff happening in the Dota 2 and eSports universe. Expect predictions, analysis and recommendations for your betting success. If you have any questions you can find me at @NoiselesS123 in twitter and twitch.tv/noiseless123.